The Natural Resources Commission passed a rule in May that limits hunters in the Lower Peninsula to one antlered deer while allowing Upper Peninsula hunters to still kill up to two. (Courtesy of the State of Michigan)

(This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.)

Hunters in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula may not have to be limited to killing just one buck a year after all. The state’s Natural Resources Commission is looking at an “earn-a-second-buck” pilot program that would allow up to two antlered deer to be killed.

But some hunters and commissioners are expressing concerns about the new deer-hunting program, which could begin during the 2027 season.

Department of Natural Resources officials presented details of the proposed “earn-a-second-buck” pilot program at the Natural Resources Commission meeting Wednesday. The commission, which is appointed by the governor to regulate hunting and fishing in the state, passed an amendment in May requesting that the department present a framework in July for the pilot.

Starting in the 2027 license year, hunters going out in the Lower Peninsula will be limited to killing one antlered deer, thanks to a “one buck rule” passed by the Natural Resources Commission in May.

If approved, the new combination deer-hunting license would let hunters bag an antlerless deer, plus one antlered or antlerless deer. If program participants report killing an antlerless deer in one of five designated Southern Michigan counties — Hillsdale, Kalamazoo, Barry, Ingham or Lapeer — then it would unlock the opportunity to purchase a special “second buck” bonus tag, which would let them kill a second antlered deer in the Upper or Lower Peninsula, potentially killing a total of three deer.

The stated goal of the program is to motivate more hunters to kill antlerless deer, which tend to be females. Since does are the ones that give birth, killing them is seen as a way to limit population growth, something officials say is needed in Southern Michigan, where deer are often hit by cars or found feasting on crops. It’s also a way to potentially appease hunters who don’t like the idea of being limited to only one antlered deer in the Lower Peninsula.

Multiple commissioners and hunters expressed confusion and concerns about the details of the earn-a-second-buck program. No public commenters expressed clear support for the plan.

“Think of the Mouse Trap game. That’s what a lot of this reminds me of,” said Dan Ulfig, a Michigan resident and hunter, during public comment. “It’s muddying the waters and it’s confusing to everyone.”

Ulfig and others say they are concerned some hunters would lie and say that they killed an antlerless deer, in order to get the bonus tag.

Under the proposed rules, hunters would not need to bring the deer to the DNR or even send in a photo. They would only need to prove that they bagged an antlerless deer by submitting a kill tag. Upon doing so, they would be sent a message saying that a conservation officer may follow up with them to verify their kill.

“There’s no entirely infallible way to do this,” said Brent Rudolph, the DNR’s deer specialist.

The department looked at other options, he said during the meeting, but ultimately decided “none of those systems provide 100% certainty that the deer was taken by a hunter, that the deer was taken when and where they said it was” but that these options would be more cumbersome for the hunter, and cost money and staff time for the department.

Rudolph said the department was told that if they required hunters to upload photos it would cost the department about $125,000 to move forward with the program. If it just allowed hunters to send kill tags, it would cost about $30,000 to move forward.

Hunters participating in the program would need to kill an antlerless deer in one of the designated counties in order to get the bonus tag, but they could kill antlered deer anywhere in the state. This had some hunters, and two commissioners — John Walters and Brandon Fewins — worried. They felt it would be difficult to track if changes to the number of antlerless deer killed were due to the earn-a-second-buck program or another new variable like the one buck rule.

But department officials weren’t concerned.

“We felt it was a bigger motivation to get people to take antlerless deer if they had more flexibility with where they could use that second buck tag,” Rudolph told Bridge Michigan.

Plus, he said, their data shows that most people who kill two bucks tend to do it in the same county.

A few public commenters urged the commission to push implementation of the pilot program back. Commissioner John Walters said he would be open to that.

“It’s not clear,” he said, referring to the program as laid out. “I think we need to really digest what we’re going to pass. And if we’re not ready to decide on it, then let’s push it back or not have it at all,” he said.

The commission is expected to vote on the details of the proposal at its Aug. 12 meeting. Rudolph said the logistics would need to be firmed up by then in order for the DNR to have enough time to get materials ready for hunting license sales on March 1.